Comparison of in-hospital versus 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography for detection of ventricular premature complexes in mature Boxers

Objective-To evaluate the use of in-hospital electrocardiography (ECG) for detection of ventricular premature complexes (VPC), compared with 24-hour a mbulatory EGG. Design-Original study. Animals-1 88 Boxers > 9 months old; 31 had a history of syncope, and 157 we re healthy (no history of syncope). Procedure-In-hospital ECG was performed on all Boxers for at least 2 minute s. Within 7 days after the in-hospital ECG was completed, 24-hour ambulator y ECG was performed. Results-The specificity of in-hospital ECG was 100% for the detection of at least 50 VPC in a 24-hour period in dogs with syncope and 93% in healthy d ogs. In-hospital ECG had poor sensitivity, although sensitivity increased a s the number of VPC per 24 hours increased. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Use of in-hospital ECG is highly specifi c for detection of at least 50 VPC during a 24-hour period. However, in-hos pital ECG is insensitive, and a lack of VPC does not suggest that the dog d oes not have a substantial number of VPC during that same period. The use o f in-hospital ECG appears to be inadequate for screening purposes and thera peutic evaluations in mature Boxers with ventricular arrhythmic disease.